Is the 18th Amendment serving education?

Talks of setting up a national curriculum commission at federal level have been in the pipeline for a few months now.

Talks of setting up a national curriculum commission at the federal level have been in the pipeline for a few months now. But a recent statement from the federal minister of inter-provincial coordination, regarding giving curriculum development back to the centre, points towards absolute confusion.

In post-Eighteenth Amendment Pakistan, where the country’s leadership keeps selling the idea of a successful ‘devolution’ to provinces, the argument of handing back the curriculum to the federation seems paradoxical. Despite this, a 2006 national curriculum has been in existence, albeit lacking due implementation by provinces, each of which is working at a unique pace at implementing it.

In addition, Punjab, the largest province of the country, has already established a Punjab Curriculum Authority — the only one of its kind in Pakistan. Since May 2013, the authority has been functioning under the Punjab Curriculum Authority Act 2012, officially claiming that its curriculum development is in line with 2006 national curriculum.

So, where exactly is the conflict? It lies in the fact that there is a lack of coordination amongst various provinces. And since there is no authority at the national level that addresses the situation at the provincial level, the picture seems ugly and highly confusing. This inertia, or lack thereof, calls for the need to consolidate at the federal level to ensure, what is being termed as ‘uniformity’ in the curriculums of the four provinces. In this chaotic system of delays and general vagueness, a regulatory body sensitive to needs, concerns and diversity at the provincial level could alleviate these growing concerns. But that regulatory body needs to be just that — and not one that demands absolute power. For any such authority-driven body will be rejected by the provinces, which have just recently begun to establish their individual power and identity through devolution. Also, any such exercise of handing curriculum back to the centre will render the legal exercise of passing the Eighteenth Amendment useless.

In the name of national cohesion and national identity, if such an exercise has to be carried out, it should be sensitive to diversity and not be confused with ensuring quality and uniformity. Provinces need to be given their space. Content and quality can be regulated by the centre by involving provincial stakeholders.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2013.